Firefighters and Koala Bears

Dave found this picture. It was taken by a photographer during the devastating fires in Australia where so may lives were lost. I was telling Brita that sometimes I almost feel more sympathy for animals than for people. Is that horrible of me? They just seem more innocent I guess.

Basketball players

After playing hoops outside in the dirt and inside on the laundry room court, the boys finally had a chance to play on a team. Gabe's season started in November and finished up in December and James' went from January through February. Both had a great time and further developed their basketball skills. Although they did not keep score for Gabe's Junior Jazz team, he is sure they had a winning season. And, for those of you who remember James' 6th grade year (ugh!), they were only defeated by Round Mountain this year. Can you believe how far they've come? Now it's back to laundry room basketball. Mom and Dad can hardly wait until the weather warms up.

Speaking of weather warming up, both Bill and I have been relegated to running on the roads and out in the valley until some more snow melts. You have to time your runs just right. If you go too late in the day, you have to do a ballet dance around the mud. We have both been trying to put in a few more miles since we will be running a half marathon with Wendy and Dave (if his knee is up to it) on April 4th. I'm afraid we'll have mud for a long time with all the moisture we have received. I am not complaining though. We definitely have been in need of moisture. It will make the wildflowers much more prevalent and vibrant. :)

Life Lesson: Delegation

Last week in my Venturing Outdoor Leadership class (yeah it's legit) I gave a presentation about delegation. My teaching partner and I did a game where one person had to try to keep 10 balloons in the air at the same time. We had them do it by themselves first then we had two people come and help them. Then we led a discussion on what it means to delegate, why people don't, and why people should. I learned alot from both the discussion and the game, but the real lesson came this morning in my Volleyball class.
I am a very short person, I've come to accept that, and volleyball is a game that favors those blessed in the vertical department. For this reason I can understand why people might think that I'm not very good. But this morning in class I was really offended when this girl who was playing in the 4 position scooted all the way back to cover my area (#5) as well. What this action said to me was that I am completely incompetent and a burden to the team. I am obviously so bad that this girl feels that she has to cover for me, because I can't do the job myself. Maybe I'm too touchy about this, but it affected my attitude and I really didn't feel like playing for a team that wouldn't even let me touch the ball and I jumped on the chance to play for another team as soon as possible.
What I learned- We were not playing for the National Championship so if our team makes a few mistakes big deal! When we leave that class no one was going to care who had the most unforced errors. And it is a class, let me say it slowly a c-l-a-s-s, you know like a place where you learn? How can a person improve if they never get the chance to touch the ball? How can I ever prepare for that National Championship (only in my dreams, of course) if I'm never given the chance to get better. I knew that I was a lot better than this girl was giving me credit for.
This principle also applies to other parts of life. Just have a little faith in people. If you never delegate, never give them the chance to prove themselves, then you are not giving them that chace to grow and improve. You cannot do everything. Not only do those that delegate benefit from getting the job done, but those who are delegated to have the pleasure of doing a job and proving their worth.I marvel that I learned this valuable life lesson in two of my less "serious" classes. This is why I wanted to come to college, not to pass all the hard courses, but to learn life lessons, gain experience, and become a better person.